14-part investor survival plan for Election Day

Commentary: With these ideas, you can get through anything

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. (MarketWatch) — Anxious? Yes. Election Day is going to be an especially long day, for all Americans. Hours are tick-ticking slooowly. And if you just watch the latest news all day you’ll have even more anxiety.

What you need is to distract yourself every now and then throughout the day. Yes, distract. Think about something other than who’s going to win.

Reuters

The long election campaign has come to a close. For investors, surviving Election Day will still take some reflection.

Seriously, shift your thinking. Away from “them out there, to you in here,” from the candidates to you. To your family, your children, your future, your higher spirit.

Even if for just a few brief moments throughout the day ... turn off the outside noise ... shift focus within ... for one minute every hour come back here ... pause ... reflect on one of these 14 questions ... take a few deep breaths ... look deep into your soul ... what’s really important today?

6 a.m. Breakfast with Uncle Warren plus a few chuckles

Imagine an early breakfast with the world’s jolliest investor. He’d probably be eating an Egg McMuffin. Seriously, I know because he once told some college students, “I may have more money than you, but money doesn’t make the difference … I would rather have a cheeseburger from Dairy Queen than a hundred-dollar meal … If there is any difference between you and me it may simply be that I get up every day and have a chance to do what I love to do, every day. If you learn anything from me, this is the best advice I can give you.” says Warren Buffett. “I tap dance to work, and when I get there, I think I’m supposed to lie on my back and paint the ceiling. It’s tremendous fun,” and he’d do it even if he had “$40 instead of his $40 billion.”

7 a.m. Remember your favorite song as a kid? Start whistling it

In “The Art of Doing Nothing” Veronique Vienne relates this little de-stressing trick: “You know how to whistle, don’t you?” says Lauren Bacall to tough guy Humphrey Bogart. “Just purse your lips and blow.” Imagine you’re a kid again. What was a favorite song? If you “want to take some pressure off yourself or let the air out of a tense situation, try whistling a few notes … You feel pretty sexy and carefree with your puckered lips, don’t you? Hold on to that feeling.” Be a kid again yourself for a short while.

8 a.m. Lose yourself in whatever you’re doing, with a smile

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi looks more like jolly St Nick than a psychology prof. In “Authentic Happiness” he says: “Isn’t it funny? I’ve been studying happiness for at least 40 years, but I still don’t have a definition of it. The closest one would be that happiness is the state of mind in which one does not desire to be in any other state. Being deeply involved in the moment, we do not have the opportunity to think about anything but the task at hand — hence, by default, we are happy.” What makes you lose yourself in it?

9 a.m. Make a list: what most turns you on, makes you feel alive

Write fast: what three things give you most peace of mind? Jot them down. “Instead of focusing almost exclusively on our finances,” says Ralph Warner in “Get A Life — You Don’t Need A Million To Retire Well,“ we “should be thinking about the things that truly make a difference in our later years; our health, spiritual life, relationships with family and friends, and having a plate full of interesting things to do.” Quick, put it on paper.

10 a.m. Cut stress, start doing what you really love

But first, remember, stress kills, stress reduces your effectiveness, your earnings. In “The Millionaire Mind,” Thomas Stanley warns that “stress is a direct result of devoting a lot of effort to a task that’s not in line with one’s abilities. It’s more difficult, more demanding mentally and physically, to work at a vocation that’s unsuitable to your aptitude.”

11 a.m. What’s the one main thing blocking your success?

Many people live in quiet desperation, waiting, doing something they hate. Marcus Buckingham speaks to us in very simple language in “The One Thing You Need to Know”: “Figure out what you don’t like doing, then stop doing it.” After years with Morgan Stanley investment banking on Wall Street, I left to pursue a dream in writing. What’s your dream? Trust me, it’s never too late.

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